Al-Shabab in Somalia: US air strike ‘kills 60 militants’

The US army says it believes some 60 al-Shabab militants had been killed by certainly one of its air strikes in central Somalia on Friday.

The “precision” strike round Harardere didn’t injure or kill civilians, it added in a press release.

The US mentioned the assault was carried out as a part of a joint effort with Somali forces to hit the al-Shabab group.

This was the deadliest air strike since November 2017 when 100 militants had been killed, the assertion added.

Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has not but commented.

“Alongside our Somali and worldwide companions, we’re dedicated to stopping al-Shabab from benefiting from secure havens from which they will construct capability and assault the folks of Somalia,” the US Africa Command mentioned.

The US army has carried out greater than two dozen air strikes, together with drone strikes, in Somalia this 12 months, the Related Press information company experiences.

US President Donald Trump expanded army operations towards al-Shabab in March 2017.

Historically, US presidents have been cautious of intervening in Somalia since 18 particular forces troopers died combating militias within the capital Mogadishu in 1993, a battle dramatised within the movie Black Hawk Down.

Who’re Somalia’s al-Shabab?

US troops to assist struggle towards al-Shabab

Al-Shabab was compelled out of Mogadishu in August 2011 following an offensive spearheaded by African Union (AU) troops.

But it surely nonetheless has a powerful presence in areas across the capital.

The port city of Harardere was the hub for piracy within the area when the hijacking of ships off the Somali coast was at its peak in 2009-2011.